asked the Minister for the Environment if his attention has been drawn to the application of Ballinasloe Urban District Council for finance towards the erection of houses at Dunlo Hill, Ballinasloe, County Galway and if he will make a statement on the matter.

I am aware that Ballinasloe Urban District Council have requested a capital allocation to finance the building of a further scheme of 38 houses at Dunlo, Ballinasloe. All housing authorities have been requested to furnish to the Department details of their local authority housing capital requirements for new works which they propose to start before 31 July 1980. The council's application for funds will be considered in conjunction with similar applications from other housing authorities, and a decision on it will be made as soon as possible.

When was this application from Ballinasloe UDC received?

It was on 11 December last.

When does the Minister propose to give the reply?

I will give the Deputy an idea of how we have been looking after everybody's interest. Other Deputies were in contact with me about this as well. So was Deputy Killilea.

The Minister has already answered.

Would the Deputy please resume his seat until the Minister has finished?

The Deputy wants other information and I will let him have it now.

The Chair cannot listen to two people at the same time. Would the Deputy please resume his seat until the Minister has finished?

The capital allocation grant in 1975 was £93,500.

Would the Deputy give the Minister a chance to answer his question?

I want to give the Deputy some very interesting information and he will not let me.

All the information the Minister could give to anybody would be very slight indeed and would not be very informative.

The Deputy's performance here is not helping either. The capital allocation grant in 1975 was £93,500; in 1976 it was £79,000; in 1977 it was £226,000; in 1978 it was £315,000 and last year it was £265,000.

That was a drop.

I know well that the people representing the Ballinasloe area are very happy. We will look after them in the future and the Deputy need have no worries.

What about 1980?

When will the Minister make a decision on the application of Ballinasloe——

And answer the letter?

We are looking into the matter and we will be communicating with the council in due course.

As a person whose home town is Ballinasloe I would like to ask a question. I would like to thank the Minister, and various other Ministers, for the way Ballinasloe has been treated, but we need more housing. The application is in and I am hoping for its favourable consideration by the Minister. We gave out 60 new houses in Ballinasloe. Eight are about to be completed. We need 40 more immediately.

On a point of order——

Wait a moment now. I do not take up much of the time of this House but there are a lot of people becoming interested in Ballinasloe.

Order, please.

I want to make a point of order. Is it acceptable for a Minister and a Deputy on one side of the House to make statements and for the Chair not to allow somebody else to do the same?

A statement is not acceptable from anybody except the Minister who is replying. If the people making the statements ignore the Chair there is very little the Chair can do about it.

In reply to Deputy Callanan, he can be assured that they will be well looked after in Ballinasloe.

Will the Minister say the same thing to me?

(Cavan-Monaghan): Does the Minister appreciate that the delay in notifying the council of the allocation is holding up work? When does the Minister intend to notify the council?

No local authority have been notified at all yet but they will be notified in due course.

(Cavan-Monaghan): Arising out of that could the Minister tell us on what date they were notified last year?

I have not got that information but if the Deputy will put down a question I will be only too glad to give him the information.